And Friday comes again.

Quite a week it has turned out to be.But as I am living in my own little self-centered bubble at the moment,busy for me is probably not a word that comes to mind for the normal beings amongst you;)

Highlights of my week were my friend M,who is also starting my job on Monday,coming over for a good girly gossipy chat.She just came back from a trip back to Canada so we hadn't met up for a few weeks.Somehow the hours just ticked past and it was afternoon before I looked at the clock.Then we had fun and games when the in-laws popped in early one evening to tell us all about the single girl in the next town who grows tomatoes with her brother .And they had just gone to check her out as potential wife material for my BIL.My MIL was so excited about the thought of her beloved youngest son settling down in married bliss to someone who would be the perfect partner as she likes farming,that she seemed to forget that the vital component in the equation ;her son's enthusiasm and willingness to be introduced to said girl.After a few hours of chit-chat my in-laws trotted off home to tell my BIL about their match-making plans.And my BIL didn't let me down and did exactly what I told Kenichi he would do; he hit the roof and refuses to have anything to do with the entire plot.Amazing that I,who have only known him for 15 years can predict how he will react to a tee while his own mother,who has known him for all of his 36 years,still has no idea what he is thinking.Food for thought Dear MIL!

Low lights of the week.Annie came down with a fever out of the blue and as some of you might know,when Annie gets a fever,we all worry rather a lot as she had a nasty time in hospital with lumbar punctures,CT scans and the works a couple of years back.And just dug up these photos of that episode.

Anyway,if she has other symptoms like a runny nose,cough etc we relax a bit.But have strict instructions from her paediatrician to bring her in if the fever gets high but nothing else seems wrong.Which is what happened mid-week.Her fever started going up to 38.5C in the evening and I dosed her with a UK over the counter fever reducer.Knocked her out for the night and her temperature lowered a wee bit.And she seemed fine in the morning and really wanted to go into daycare so despite having a low-medium grade fever,I took her in and her teacher said they would see how things went.The phone call came from said teacher at 9.30am to say that she was feverish again and off we went to see the doctor.Annie had a lovely time as ever with him and they adored each other for a good 20 minutes whilst I twiddled my thumbs and watched them flirting away.She was given some strong medication so off home we went.We had a rough day as her fever went up again to 39.5C and that night wasn't the best.But by yesterday morning,she seemed better although not well enough to go into daycare.

So,she was allowed to come with me for my weekly check-up at the gynaecologist's .How fun! Until I got in there and lay down and realised that my tummy was looking a funny shape.And this turned out to be because my sweet little baby has decided to go into breech again.Arghhhhhhhh!And we all thought she had settled down so well.Seems she is a smallish baby so still has room to move around.And move and wiggle and punch she does.No more twinges down "there" as her head is now back to butting me in the ribcage.I was given some very interesting and bloody painful exercises to do twice a day for 10 minutes and will be back for another scan and check on Monday.As I only have 3 weeks until my due date,we are all hoping and praying that the babe will go down and stay down.Or at least deign to come out bum first so I can try for a a natural birth.Here the C-sections are still rather drastic and they still make a big old butchers-type vertical incision rather than the horizontal bikini line types.And because of this,you have to stay in hospital for 2 weeks,which is I suppose very sensible as it is major surgery.But the thought of being away from Annie and home for 2 weeks just ain't nice. So that is why us Japan-based gals do get overly antsy at the thought of C-sections.

And back to today(Friday).Annie is back at daycare,Kenichi is at work after a night out with the lads and only coming in after 1pm ,which seems so early compared to the nights out of youth but at 37,he is feeling it.Ha!In a few minutes,my friend M is coming round again for a cuppa then I am out to lunch .

We have been having some pretty busy weekends and this weekend is the same as we are going out and about and seeing friends and doing things that I will not be able to do so easily once the baby is here.


And that's that.

The Facts of Life

During the last couple of weeks,Annie has been asking how and where things are made.We have discussed factories and looked on the Net to see photos of houses been built,cars being put together and clothes being made.So she seems to get the idea.I nearly made a big blunder when she asked who made and where her doll was made; I went for the factory option to be looked at with narrowed eyes.Her comment was ,"But Father Christmas made my doll.You said so."Oops! I managed to cover my tracks by saying something about the elves in Father Christmas' toy factory making her doll and breathed a sigh of relief when she accepted the answer.

Last night,she suddenly came up to me before bed and asked the inevitable question; "Who made me?".I have to admit that although as a parent we know this question is going to be asked,I really did expect to hear it quite so soon;she's only 3 and a half for goodness sake.But asked she did and answer I did.Thank goodness,mum brought across a couple of "How Babies Are Made" type of books that I was given when I was 5 .So we ploughed through them and Annie learned all about eggs and sperm and fertilization in plants,chickens,dogs and then humans.She was very interested in everything but the plants(was a bit boring) and after we had been through both books,she started pretending to be an egg herself and grew into a baby.So she seemed to understand some of the concepts and was fascinated by the baby frogs that come from the daddy's chin-chin(penis) so Kenichi had to be examined,ho ho.

And you know that there was always one kid at school who knew all the details about the facts of life and everyone crowded around them to listen in awe?Well,it amuses me to know that most probably in the next year or so,that kid will be my Annie.And I bet all the parents of the kiddies who go home and tell their mums and dads what they heard will be cursing "that bloody foreign woman" for being so upfront with her daughter;)

Beating the heat.

As I write,it is actually a wee bit cooler than it was this time last week.No need for the A/C at the moment as it is only just over 30C and the humidity is down to 70%.We have had a few amazing thunderstorms and since then,things have been improving.

But it is still HOT and just thought i would introduce a couple of ways that our family has been beating the heat this year.

Number One.

The best apple drink ever known,100% homemade and so easy.In Japan it is known as "Apple Sour".There are 3 ingredients; apples,rock sugar and vinegar.The apples are sliced,skin on,and placed in a container.You add rock sugar and vinegar.Stir the contents once a day for a week and hey presto,you have your drink.You drink it diluted with water(or shochu ) and it is cheap,very healthy(all that vinegar) and so refreshing.

Number Two.

The paddling pool.This actually only concerns Annie and Kenichi as I have been banned by Annie as my tummy is too big(and also,I don't think I would ever manage to get out if I did flop in).We bought a new pool this summer and although rather needs no blowing up and folds down for easy storage.It was also cheap at 1,500 yen.But as you can see,it needs rather a lot of water.However,during the summer,we only take showers .We figured out that what we would be saving on bath water could be used for the pool.And our water bill has actually decreased as we only fill the pool once a week or so and it lasts.And what better way to spend the hottest part of the day.It has been a life saver for me as it has been too hot to take Annie to the beach in the past weeks so when Kenichi is working or off doing things,Annie gets to have fun at home and I don't have to risk life and limb but taking her to the seaside alone.And a number of her friends have also reaped the benefits may I say;)

Number Three.

This applies to Annie only...her own way of staying cool in the other sense of the word.The picture below was taken about 2 weeks ago when everyone and everything was melting;The A/C was on all the time and even then we were still sweating.One morning,Annie put on one of her favourite summer dresses(thanks Rebecca;) ) and then decided that it wasn't cool enough.So she added a fleece hat and denim jacket and after the picture was taken,pink rain boots.She was really happy with the outcome and went to daycare happily unaware that even by just looking at her in her setup caused everyone to feel that heat even more.And in fact the photo is slighty blurred as my fingers were sweating so much that I couldn't get a proper grip on the camera.

Gender Issues

Yes,I have major gender issues at the moment.Yesterday,I had yet another conversation in the supermarket with an older woman.I have had similar conversations countless number of times during the last few months and they drive me mad.They go like this:

Woman: Hello there! Not long to go now.

Me: No,just a few more weeks.

Woman: You must be very excited.Do you know if it's a boy or girl yet?

Me: Oh yes.It's another girl.

Woman: Oh dear.Really?So you'll be trying for a third then because you must have a boy.

Me: ................................



What is it with people??I know that here in Japan it used to be very important to have an heir and the over 50's still think a son is necessary to carry the family name as well as to take all the family responsibilities in the future and look after the older generation when the time comes.But nowadays things have changed.First born sons do not necessarily stay in their town of birth to carry on the family line.They go and live their lives as they wish.The pressure is not,in most cases,there any more.It is a dying tradition.And the irony is that most of the ladies who have told me that I must "try again for a boy" usually have sons who have left home and this area .

And on the subject of gender,another bee in my bonnet is the Boys versus Girls issue.What is it with people who have,for example,all boys saying to another all boy family how glad that they are that they only have sons?And of course,it works the other other way round for the all girl families as well.I hear these ridiculous comments being flung around about "Boys are best" or "Girls are the greatest" ,"Aren't we luck to have just boys/girls",etc.Sorry,but there is something wrong here.

I am happy and blessed because I will have 2 children.I am also happy that we didn't have to spend more money on clothes for the baby as she will have Annie's collection,skint flint that I am.But I do love shopping for girl's clothes as they are gorgeous and there is a wider range for girls.The End.

Basically ,what I want to say to the people who think that we should have another baby and hope and pray for a boy, and for those people who somehow feel that one gender "rules" is this....

Love your children for who they are,not what they are.

Woo Hoo!

How funny,after all the worry,the decision just came about so quickly.We have at last decided on a name.It was on our list for ages and at No.1 for a week or two but I still had my doubts for some reason.But this afternoon,Kenichi texted me out of the blue and said "Let's go with *******".Then a few minutes ago,I spoke to my secret advisor and that person said they love the name which evokes "Sunshine".What a lovely thing to say and that's all I needed to realise that this is the one after all.And the name also comes with a shortened version,so two names for the price of one.Clever,eh!

And needless to say,the name will remain under lock and key until the baby in question is born.


NB.The number of *'s above is random:)

Just wondering...

Somehow the last month of my pregnancy is creeping up on me and next week I am officially in my 9th month or,as they count differently here in Japan,my 10th month.Then the waiting game begins and who knows when the start of the end of the pregnancy will be.Annie was born spot on her due date and I only know one other baby who managed that(wave to Joey:) ) so I really don't know what to expect but should be prepared for an earlier arrival just in case.As a friend pointed out yesterday,even if the infamous "Hospital Bag" isn't ready,I need only grab a few things and Kenichi can bring the rest at a later date...it's not as if they turn you away at the clinic door if you don't have all the bits and bobs you need.And as we have a longer stay after the birth in Japan,Kenichi would have 5 or 6 days to go buy nappies and breast pads and all sorts if necessary.

So the only thing left is ...yep,the name.Kenichi is at the "yeah,that sounds fine" stage to the name I throw out at him at odd moments ,but I want us both to decide this.But as getting the kanji to match the name takes a very long time,we don't want to suddenly be in the situation that I have the baby early and we have 2 weeks to register her name plus kanji so panic and go for something we may not be happy about later

And the only way I can think of doing this is to write a number of names down and well,pull them out of a hat. But is that normal?We did it to name our dog when I was little and nobody I know has done it with a baby and even if they have,it's not really a thing you tell people about,is it?And don't want our daughter,x years down the road to come and ask us why we chose her name as she has to do a school project about her name and it's meaning.Annie will pass with flying colours as she was named after someone so her name has an impressive story behind it but we can't really turn round to Daughter No 2 and tell her that if she'd been a boy,she would have had a really cool and family related name with real history and an even more impressive story than Annie's name behind it but sorry love,we couldn't think of anything for you so just went with the old fashioned method of pulling a name out of the hat...

Or can we?

Wedding Bells...

Annie: "Mummy,I'm going to marry daddy.Because I think daddy wants to marry me."

Ousted by a 3 year old.

Evening entertainment

Living near the sea not only means lots of swimming,sandcastle fun,beautiful sunsets and sea breezes,it also means fish.And yesterday evening we went off to catch our supper for today.At this time of year,"aji" or Japanese Horse Mackerel are incredibly easy to catch and it is the only time of the year that I actually enjoy fishing because it is so easy to get the little things to bite.In fact you probably don't even need bait.

We caught 20 fish in as many minutes.Kenichi was happy as he loves fishing,I was happy as I just sat there,plonked the rod in the water,caught a few and Kenichi did the rest and Annie was happy as she loves being outside and will become,we are sure,an avid fisherman/woman/girl/person in the future.She even touched the fish which I still can't do after x number of years here unless they are very dead indeed.

What boys do on a boys day out.

Kenichi really enjoyed his male bonding day last weekend and it all sounds very boy-like in the fact that they drove their big bikes,had a big lunch with meat,did a bit of sightseeing(which,actually,isn't that much of a boy's thing and I was quite impressed) ,drove back again ,then ate more meat in the evening,sculled a few beers and talked about bikes and lunch.

And the boys even took the camera so we can see what they got up to.

Exhibit one.

The most important of course.LUNCH.Now this photo can be enjoyed forever by the boys.Hmmmm.

Exhibit two.

Sightseeing,boy-style.They all took turns to pretend to be a samurai warrior.

Exhibit three.

The park they stopped at for a coffee break.Amazing.Yawn.

But,have to admit that K took the photo to show me as he wants to take Annie and Baby No-name there someday....

Exhibit four.

My all time "Boys will be boys" photo of two of the gang,taken by my dear husband as he was biking along at 90km/hr.Way to go...NOT!

Pregnancy update.

Yawn Yawn Yawn,I know.But a few people have kindly asked me how things are going so I feel forced to oblige;)

Things are going well and the baby is still,you've guessed it,un-named.After all that car talk you'd have thought that we'd have managed to get our acts together but sorry,we had a lot of catching up to do and unfortunately,the name thing didn't quite make the list.We need another road trip but that ain't going to be happening for the other reason I mentioned a post or two ago...yes,that.

My feet are doing OK although were not happy campers after the drive on Friday ,but had no rest on Saturday as Kenichi buggered off with his biker friends all the way to somewhere in Kagoshima,leaving at 5.30am and home at 5.30pm then off to drink beer together and do some more male bonding type things.So Annie and I were here together.Had a quietish morning with play dough,writing "letters" to Annie's friends,doing the washing,hoovering,reading and re-reading some new books that a lovely friend in Seattle sent to Annie and then making sandwiches for lunch.

After lunch,the pool was filled up to the brim and Annie went out as she was too eager to wait for her favourite boyfriend,Yuichiro to arrive with his mum and little sister.Once he did arrive,the little love birds spent an amazing hour and a half in the pool giggling and going up and down the slide we put in it and splashing each other.Annie was also very coy and waiting for Yu-chan at the bottom of the slide so that he would slide straight into her arms.And Yu-chan seemed to enjoy the hugs rather a lot too and also stripped off later on.Honestly,they do start young nowadays.

Once Yu-chan and co had gone home,we had something to eat,took Kenichi to his Man Party and then Annie fell asleep on the sofa.We were due to pick Kenichi up at 9pm and she was so eager to go that when the time came,I woke her up and blimey,she was up and ready in an instant.She gave me a wonderful rendition of "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" when she saw the night sky and then ,yep,chatted all the way to get Kenichi and all the way back.Then we went off to bed and she was still chatting when Kenichi and I out the light off.

So,yes,the pregnancy....so easy to get side-tracked.The feet we pretty bad on Saturday but had a lie-in on Sunday and that was also a busy day(but not going to be side-tracked again) but they are fine again now.

I have loved this pregnancy as much as Annie's rather short one;).I was lucky not to get morning sickness that badly and in general apart from feeling the heat so much and having feety problems,I feel great.Funnily enough,my cravings this time have been fruit and vegetables and I still get amazing yearnings for the veggies so am extremely grateful that my in-laws provide what they do.The baby is a real mover and doesn't stop.Between her and motor-mouth Annie we are going to be kept on our toes.Oh well,at least Kenichi and I have the perfect excuse to escape every 3 years ....Hooray for re-entry visas I say!

Time to Talk

Well,well,well.What d'you know?Put 2 adults in a car for 6 hours and what happens?They talk.Yes,really....!On Friday,Kenichi and I talked for 6 straight hours in the car plus at all the other places I mentioned.Incredible,eh?Neither of us can remember the drive as we were so busy putting the world to rights.We had actually forgotten what it is like to chat away together without the "Mummy?Blah blah blah" voice piping up from the back seat.We finished sentences and could discuss things without being asked "Why?" three trillion times.And didn't have to listen to any happy clappy " Boogy with your toddler" type CDs.Nor watch a single Maisy DVD.So that drive was quite an event in itself and perhaps I should be thanking the crappy bureaucratic system in this country for letting two people have a little chat.

Oh,and we even got back in ample time to take Princess Chatterbox to see the doctor and get enough medication to kill the little wormies in all of us.Yes indeed,we all had to be dosed which delighted Annie and she spent the evening asking to see our bums in case she spotted a worm or two.We didn't oblige.But Annie and I,apparently,have pink worms and Kenichi has green worms...Food for thought isn't it.

Off on a "date"...??

Today Kenichi and I are off to Kumamoto City.Hopefully the drive will be less than 3 hours one way as the baby has put herself in the correct position(head down) but is fidgeting so much and is,how do I put this delicately,touching on some delicate areas.Ouch.

So,the reason for this hot date?I need a re-entry visa.Thrilling eh.So we are off to the immigration office to get the damn thing.If I don't have it,I can't come back into Japan without losing my permanent residency status so it is rather important that I have it.SO we will be making this 5 to 6 hour journey to do some paperwork that takes 10 minutes.Oh,I love Japanese bureaucracy:).

Annie is not coming as it is just a waste of time for her to sit in the car and watch DVDs all day,says mother.She has no idea we are planning this covert trip and we will not be telling her as she would have a fit if she knew.

So some Mummy and Daddy time.In the car.Then in the immigration office.Then at the restaurant where we have lunch.Then at the bike shop where Kenichi wants to buy(at last) a full face helmet.And then straight back home again.How about that for a hot date?

Then the piece De la Resistance,we are taking Annie to the doctor as she has thread worms...which we are being really naughty about and denying the existence of until after the visa is sorted as otherwise we will be told by daycare to take her this morning thus missing the opening times of the immigration office and have to wait until next week to go by which time I will be less inclined than now to sit in the damn car with a baby banging on my **** for 5 -6 hours.

On the up side of things,by tomorrow,Annie's bum will hopefully be worm free and after so much time together,Kenichi and I may have actually manage to agree on a name for the baby.